In the studio with Lollie

Just a few quick edits from my shoot today with Lollie, one of my favourite models and someone I work with often. This was the first time I've used the Sony in the studio and I definitely needed more depth of field in some of them, something to remember for next time. They were shot in my small home studio using two continuous lights behind two shoot-through umbrellas in a clam-shell formation. I was looking for soft, shallow depth of field which is why I avoided flash - it's not easy as space is limited.

Portraits aren't my forte but I like the poses and the model is lovely
I think the eyes need to be sharper though, but what do I know

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You know enough to know that eyes should be sharp, and you are right. One eye is sharp(ish) in each frame but I was shooting too shallow, I'm still adjusting from micro four thirds depth of field. Next time! I am pleased with the coherent colour narrative and set up generally (and the camera loves Lollie), it just needs better execution on my part...

Nice shots Simon and as Mike said, the eyes do not appear tack sharp to me (only just a touch out) but the lighting, poses and model all work well together.

I notice you shot them all with the 50mm wide open - it looks like a really nice lens for restricted space portraits.

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Thanks Ian. The 50 is great, although I've had to remove a fair bit of chromatic aberration, both green and purple. But no complaints about sharpness or rendering. As I say, I just need to stop acting like a kid in a candy store with shallow depth of field! I also need to focus and fire quicker I think, too much pause between focus lock and shutter release at these apertures will knock the focus out as well. All little things that I need to work into my process.

The model is stunning, and so are the shots. Great poses and set up.
As for nailing the eye desired, without the latest Eye-AF features, and the slightly slower AF response of the FE-50 f/1.8, using AF-C with the FE-50 should cut down hunting. Especially tracking a moving model. If she's posing stationary, from my time focusing manual lenses, the magnification assist is very handy to verify focus accuracy.
In AF mode, enable DMF. Anytime you touch the lens' focus ring, it jumps you into manual focus mode with magnification assist. You can tweak focus to assure the eye is in focus. That extra second may help you nail the shot with the A7.

You know enough to know that eyes should be sharp, and you are right. One eye is sharp(ish) in each frame but I was shooting too shallow, I'm still adjusting from micro four thirds depth of field. Next time! I am pleased with the coherent colour narrative and set up generally (and the camera loves Lollie), it just needs better execution on my part...

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Nice setup and shots Simon! When I was shooting my D800 for many years for portraits with my Nikkor 50mm f1.2 and 85mm f1.4, from 1 to 2m I had to always set the f stop to f2.2, f2.4, or more to get both eyes in focus if the head was ever so slightly turned. This was one of the things I loved when I added M4/3 gear to my kit, the DOF doubled with my Olympus 45mm f1.8 and later the P/Leica 42.5 F1.2 Nocticron. While many pinheads on the net said this was a negative of M4/3, to me it was always a positive. So now that I am back with FF and the Sony, this is something I need to re-learn and adjust for when I shoot closeups. This is why I wasn't in a hurry to get Sony 1.4 primes, the 1.8 will do just fine, as I want a smaller and lighter kit, but as you are finding out, even with f1.8 FF primes you may need to go to f2.4 to get both eyes in focus for closeups as you have taken here.

I think for me it's about learning to see as the lens sees - it's all so new and it takes a while to adjust, but I hope it will become second nature soon. There's also habits to learn and unlearn - with micro four thirds i would shoot as tight as I could, squeezing every bit of bokeh from the lens, but there's no need to do that with the Sony - I can afford some crop room and that too will affect how I see a scene.

Nice shots Simon! I can tell right away the difference between these shots and your M43 photos. Since I do mostly portrait shooting, the Sony's really excel in that area due to the more accurate focusing, and DOF control even on the 1st get A7! I also like your color signature with your editing profile!

Nice shots Simon! I can tell right away the difference between these shots and your M43 photos. Since I do mostly portrait shooting, the Sony's really excel in that area due to the more accurate focusing, and DOF control even on the 1st get A7! I also like your color signature with your editing profile!

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thanks Jonathan - I am really happy with the styling and colours, just a bit gutted about my technical execution. It's strange, it's not something I've had to think about recently, my technique has been good enough for a while but I was so comfortable with my older gear. I think these would have been quite achievable with m43, maybe with a little more depth of field, but I remember you saying to me about a year ago in the other forum about how easy the files are to work with and that was my main take-away from this shoot. I could manipulate them to my heart's content without penalty.

thanks Jonathan - I am really happy with the styling and colours, just a bit gutted about my technical execution. It's strange, it's not something I've had to think about recently, my technique has been good enough for a while but I was so comfortable with my older gear. I think these would have been quite achievable with m43, maybe with a little more depth of field, but I remember you saying to me about a year ago in the other forum about how easy the files are to work with and that was my main take-away from this shoot. I could manipulate them to my heart's content without penalty.

cheers, that's really appreciated. I do love photographing people, and I'm looking forward to adding some Sony shots to the portfolio in due course.

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I love M43 for all the advantages it offers, but FF files offer quite a bit leverage in regards to editing. The ability to recover highlights is one area where I feel more comfortable shooting FF. With M43, you always have to be careful when shooting in bright areas to avoid blowout. For portraits, it really helps to have more flexibility in this regards.

I like a bit more sharpness to my portraits. At first, I thought that you had used a diffusion filter of some type. As an example of selective sharpness, I like the work of Manny Ortiz (Beards and Gear) on YouTube who shoots with Sony equipment - both full frame and crop.

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